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Extended Essay

Research Question

How do Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima construct narratives

explore the destructive pursuit of beauty in The Picture of Dorian
Gray and The Temple of The Golden Pavilion?

 
Name: Farrel Max Gomargana
Candidate Number:
 
 
Supervisor: Mr. Patrick Jones
Session:
 
 
Essay Word Count: 3836

 
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Table of Contents

Introduction..............................................................................................................................3

Characterizing the Aestheticist...............................................................................................4

The Desecration of Ideal Beauty as a Plot Mechanism.........................................................7

Art as a Symbol......................................................................................................................10

Destructive Resolutions.........................................................................................................12

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................13

Works Cited............................................................................................................................15
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Introduction:

The idea of beauty is one of the key obsessions of the Aesthetic Movement in the late

1800s. The artistic movement placed a heavy emphasis on aesthetic values, countering

Victorian ideals of restrictive conformity and moral expectations. Art, aestheticists preached,

should not have any moral or didactic purpose. The belief that art should only be beautiful

and that the main goal of art was the pursuit of beauty, art for art’s sake. This ideology was,

to a great extent, influenced by Oscar Wide’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.

One of the most well-known and celebrated literary works from the Aesthetic

Movement, The Picture of Dorian Gray, depicts the life of the young and handsome Dorian

Gray in his pursuit of beauty. In exchange for eternal youth, Dorian sacrifices his own soul to

a mysterious portrait of himself which would continue to corrupt as Dorian remained

untainted by the natural phenomenon of aging. He engages himself in self-indulgent

pleasures, grandiose parties, opium den escapades, the aesthetic lifestyle. However, leading a

selfish life obsessed with beauty results in the degenerative transformation of his soul which

leads to his ultimate demise. 

The aesthetic ideology is not only limited to the West and the 19th Century. Unlike

their western counterparts, whose “values are rooted in a Hellenic Worldview,” Japanese

aesthetics thrive in the imperfect, impermanent, and the broken (Juniper). A taste intimately

linked with Zen Buddhism that suggests inner peace is brought by the “reaffirmation of our

impermanence” (Juniper). Like the Aesthetic Movement, beauty is also a key subject in

Japanese literature. One such literary work that explores the pursuit of beauty in Japanese

culture is The Temple of The Golden Pavilion written by Yukio Mishima in 1956. The

Temple of The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku-ji, follows a troubled young Buddhist acolyte

named Mizoguchi. As a result of his disability and past trauma, Mizoguchi is alienated from

the world around him. The Golden Temple then becomes his object of desire for its beauty he
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can never attain. Throughout Mizoguchi’s pursuit of beauty, his obsessive feelings toward the

temple change, conclusively ending with the young acolyte’s decision to burn the temple

down. 

Despite the difference in culture and the time period in which these texts were written,

they both address the destructive nature of the pursuit of beauty. In western or eastern culture,

the pursuit of beauty is universal and is especially prevalent in literature. How this theme is

explored may differ between each culture. This essay will discuss the different literary

techniques Wilde and Mishima use to construct narratives exploring the destructive nature of

the pursuit of beauty and analyze the effects achieved by such techniques.

Characterizing the Aestheticist:

Both literary works can be considered character-driven stories. The plot moves along

with the decisions and actions the protagonists make and there is a great emphasis on the

characters’ development. Wilde and Mishima’s characters are crafted as physical

manifestations of an aestheticist in his pursuit of beauty. Although Dorian and Mizoguchi are

physically distinct, they are similar in nature: both lacking a sense of beauty in life. By

establishing flawed characters, Wilde and Mishima highlight the need for beauty that sparks

their destructive pursuit. This section of the essay examines both the subtle and the overt

ways the two authors characterize their protagonists and analyzes the effects achieved by

such characterization. 

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde utilizes the two minor characters of the novel,

Basil and Lord Henry, to characterize Dorian as beautiful and naive. In the eyes of Basil, the

painter, Dorian is his muse, his object of inspiration, fascination, and obsession. In order to

warn Lord Henry so as not to influence and corrupt Dorian, who “has a simple and a beautiful

nature” (Wilde 23), Basil pleads: “Don’t take away from me the one person that makes life
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absolutely lovely to me, and that gives to my art whatever wonder or charm it possesses.”

(Wilde 23). Dorian not only has the ability to strike an artist, one who creates beauty, with

afflatus to pursue a higher beauty, but also becomes an object of obsession signifying to the

reader the aesthetic brilliance this individual possesses. By overtly cementing Dorian as a

symbol of adoration and beauty for Basil, Wilde enchants the readers, keeping them

interested in the character without having been introduced to him directly. On the other hand,

Wilde uses Lord Henry’s character to overtly confirm the reader’s suspicions of Dorian’s

majestic presence. “He was certainly wonderfully handsome…” Lord Henry describes, “All

the candor of youth was there, as well as all youth’s passionate purity.” (Wilde 25). Lord

Henry’s character acts as a catalyst for Dorian to make the revelation that his life is lacking in

beauty. Ignoring Basil’s request to stay away from Dorian, Lord Henry feels the need to

educate Dorian on aesthetic life. Lord Henry indoctrinates Dorian with his “New Hedonism,”

stating that “The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly.” (Wilde

28). Lord Henry believes that by living life to the fullest, “the world would gain such a fresh

impulse of joy” (Wilde 29), and that the only way to “get rid of a temptation is to yield it”

(Wilde 30). Lord Henry’s ideology, Sheldon Liebman argues, “is what philosophers call

ethical egoism… seeking pleasure and avoiding pain” (Liebman 300). Wilde utilizes this

philosophy, subtly instilled into Dorian’s mind, to serve as the basis for Dorian’s worldview

as the novel progresses. Furthermore, Lord Henry emphasizes to Dorian that both youth and

beauty are temporary: “When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it” (Wilde 36).

Dorian is scaremongered into believing that time is his foe, causing him to be consumed with

jealousy and fear. To Dorian, the picture represents the hedonistic and beautiful life that he

cannot possess. Thus, acting out of impulse, Dorian is willing to make the Faustian pact,

destroying his own soul in order to achieve eternal youth, and ignite a destructive pursuit of

permanent beauty. Wilde subtly characterizes Dorian as impressionable and impulsive

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conveying to the reader Dorian’s childlike and naive qualities. This allows the reader to be

able to believe and understand the destructive actions Dorian will take to pursue beauty as the

narrative moves forward.

Mizoguchi, on the other hand, is characterized to be physically unattractive unlike

Dorian. Nevertheless, they both share a similar type of desire to attain beauty. In addition to

Wilde's technique of characterizing the protagonist through minor characters, Mishima uses

the first-person perspective to allow his own protagonist to characterize himself as an outcast.

Mishima’s use of metaphoric language provides readers with an intimately vivid impression

of the struggles Mizoguchi faces in his childhood. Mishima manipulates reader response into

empathizing with Mizoguchi which contributes to the justification of his obsession with

beauty. Mizoguchi is overtly portrayed to be feeble and ugly, however, his most defining

feature is his stutter. He believes that his stuttering “placed an obstacle between [himself] and

the outside world.” (Mishima 24). The first sound uttered from a mouth is “like a key to the

door that separates [his] inner world from the world outside.” However, due to his inability to

speak properly, he has “never known the key to smoothly turn the lock” (Mishima 24). The

metaphor of the key and the door allows readers to visualize and understand Mizoguchi’s

struggles without having experienced them themselves, subtly strengthening the bond

between the reader and the protagonist. Another metaphor Mishima uses to illustrate the

struggles of a stutterer is the metaphor of the little bird. Mizoguchi compares a stutterer

attempting to utter his first sound to a “little bird that is trying to extricate itself from thick

lime.” Just as the bird manages to free itself, the stutterer too would have found it to be too

late to remove himself from the sticky situation. Mishima’s delicate imagery of the little bird

subtly implies to the reader that Mizoguchi is not only innocent and fragile but also a victim

to an unfortunate condition. Through the metaphorical language, Mishima evokes empathy

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from the reader which is key in characterizing Mizoguchi as unable to attain beauty in his

life.

Having established his protagonist as a flawed character lacking beauty in life,

Mishima then utilizes Mizoguchi’s father as an influence for Mizoguchi’s pursuit of beauty.

Similar to how Wilde uses Lord Henry’s character, Mizoguchi’s father plays an influential

role in Mizoguchi’s life. This is summarized by the first line of the novel: “Ever since my

childhood, Father had often spoken to me about the Golden Temple.” (Mishima 1). As the

“first real problem” Mizoguchi faces in life is “that of beauty” (Mishima 37), his father's

descriptions of the temple “dominated his heart” (Mishima 24). According to his father,

“there was nothing on this earth as beautiful as the Golden Temple.” (Mishima 24). Just like

Lord Henry who enchants Dorian with the beauty of a hedonistic life, Mizoguchi’s father

attempts to comfort Mizoguchi by introducing him to ideal beauty. This subtly characterizes

Mizoguchi as being depraved of beauty and meaning to live on. His obsession and fixation on

the Golden Temple’s beauty suggest to the reader how Mizoguchi is entirely reliant on the

image of the temple being beautiful. The Golden Temple provides Mizoguchi a reason to

pursue beauty and live on. 

The Desecration of Ideal Beauty as a Plot Mechanism:

Women in literature are often crafted as the manifestations of the protagonist’s desires

(Korte). Female characters play a key role in these two narratives, representing ideal beauty.

Although the desires the protagonists’ hold for these women may differ, both authors utilized

the desecration of ideal beauty represented in these female characters to reveal and

foreshadow the destructive nature of the pursuit of beauty.  This section of the essay

examines how Wilde and Mishima use the desecration of ideal beauty through female
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characters as a plot mechanism in order to further the narrative and analyzes the effect this

achieves.

As Dorian begins to pursue his hedonistic endeavours, he falls in love with Sibyl

Vane, a beautiful girl who acts in Shakespearean plays. He is mesmerized by her performance

and her ability to change personas. Unlike “ordinary women [who] never appeal to one’s

imagination... [and] are limited to their century” (Wilde 60), Dorian views Sibyl as someone

who is akin to “all the great heroines of the world in one. [Someone who] is more than an

individual.” (Wilde 66). However, after delivering a lacklustre performance, Dorian’s

infatuation with the girl dies out. He is in love with the idea of Sibyl being able to portray

Rosalind, Portia, and the other characters she plays. To him, Sibyl has profaned this ideal

image of beauty in which the estranged Dorian responds with distaste, “you have killed my

love. You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity…You have

spoiled the romance of my life. How little you can know of love, if you say it mars your art!”

(Wilde 95). Dorian’s reaction to the desecration of ideal beauty reveals to the reader Dorian’s

low regard for anyone aside from himself. This selfish attitude connects to Lord Henry’s

ethical egoism philosophy, which places beauty and self-pleasure above consideration for

others. Wilde utilizes this plot mechanism to overtly vilify his protagonist, placing Dorian in

a disparaging light. Consequently, Dorian’s actions have caused Sibyl to take her own life by

the consumption of an unknown substance; a possible parallel to the death of Portia in Julius

Caesar. Through the femme fragile’s death, Wilde escalates the stakes and creates a

distressing and solemn mood, which foreshadows the destructive actions Dorian will have to

take in order to continue his pursuit of beauty, such as murdering Basil and James Vane,

Sibyl’s brother. Readers are taken aback by the sudden and severe consequence of Dorian’s

immoral behaviour, magnifying the destructive nature of Dorian’s pursuit of beauty. 

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In the case of Mizoguchi, the image of ideal beauty comes in the form of Uiko, his

beautiful neighbour for whom he has carnal desires. His attitude towards beauty changes

after an incident with her. Mizoguchi who goes to see Uiko for himself in a quest for

understanding her beauty, is greeted with insults and ridicule as his stammer stands

perpetually between him and action. His pride as a man is mocked and dismantled by

Uiko whom he regards as the ideal woman. In turn, Mizoguchi grows to despise and hate

Uiko cursing her and wishing for her demise: 

I wished that the witness of my disgrace would disappear… If no other people

existed, shame could never be born in the world…Other people must all be

destroyed. In order that I might truly face the sun, the world itself must be

destroyed. (Mishima 30)

Sarah Carrim argues that Mizoguchi would continue to adopt this destructive and

dangerous attitude towards “[witnessing] the transformation of beauty into ugliness”,

culminating in the “final [act of destruction] when he sets fire to the Golden Temple.”

(Carrim 22).  Conversely, this is true, since his future acts of destruction are mostly

targeted toward women of whom he constantly compares to Uiko, the ideal woman, for

instance, in the incident when Mizoguchi tramples the stomach of a young prostitute

resemblant of Uiko, fuelled by his hatred for the “ugly” nature of prostitution. Through

this plot mechanism, Mishima reveals to the reader the protagonist’s train of thought and

hints to the reader of his destructive attitude towards the beautiful later in the narrative.

This enables the reader to understand the reasons behind the protagonist’s future acts of

destruction.

The latter ideal beauty is his mother, whom according to psychoanalytic theory, is the

symbol of Mizoguchi’s ultimate sexual desire: “The boy’s sexual wishes in regard to his

mother become more intense...” (Freud 32) From this perspective, the horrific scene of his
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mother having an affair with another man in front of the presumably asleep thirteen-year-old

Mizoguchi symbolized the desecration of ideal beauty. The only thing shielding him from his

mother’s sexual act was his father’s hands. Mizoguchi recounts, “Whether it was from love or

compassion or shame, I do not know; but those hands had instantaneously cut off the

terrifying world with which I was confronted and had buried it in darkness.” (Mishima 63).

Mizoguchi’s desire for and perception of his mother was soiled as the image of his mother

being defiled in front of him had been engraved into his memory. This traumatic experience

foreshadows the event in which he attempts to make love with another woman: “Between the

girl and myself, between life and myself, there invariably appeared the Golden Temple.”

(Mishima 142). The image of the Golden Temple which mirrors that of his father’s hands

disrupts him in the middle of the sexual act, effectively causing him to antagonize the Golden

Temple for his own sexual repression. Akin to Wilde’s technique, Mishima masterfully uses

the desecration of ideal beauty represented by these two women to set into motion a chain of

events; ultimately culminating in the final act of burning down the temple

Art as a Symbol:

It is evident that in both of these works that the symbol of art plays an important role

in the overall plot. Both authors employ these symbols of art in order to reflect character

development and develop the theme of the destructive pursuit of beauty. Wilde utilizes

Basil’s mystical portrait of Dorian as a reflection of Dorian's own soul. The painting contains

a supernatural ability to grow uglier with Dorian’s sins as the years go by, a symbol of the

Dorian’s degenerative transformation: “The picture, changed or unchanged, would be to him

the visible emblem of conscience.” (Wilde 102). The transfer in aging itself indirectly

indicates to the reader the artistic lifestyle Dorian pursues. Unlike the decaying portrait,

Dorian lives his life like a work of art, indulging himself in sensual pleasures and isolating
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himself from consequences at the cost of others around him. Moira Muldoon’s statement

further reinforces this idea: “People cannot exist separately from morality, as works of art

can.” (Muldoon). Wrinkles, cruel facial expressions, and blood stains mar the painting; an

indirect reflection of Dorian’s development as he continues to commit destructive and sinful

acts. The painting serves as a mirror of Dorian’s own soul which he consciously decides to

ignore by covering it up. The insatiably materialistic Dorian will continue to build up

pressure on the painting itself, similar to a ticking time bomb. Through this willing ignorance,

Wilde creates a mood of tension as readers are left guessing how corrupted the painting has

become as Dorian continues to carelessly commit sinful acts. Through the destruction of the

painting, Wilde subtly develops the theme of the destructive nature of the pursuit of beauty.

In contrast with the painting, the Golden Temple serves as a reflection of Mizoguchi’s

developing attitude towards beauty, not the soul. Throughout the novel the image of the

Golden Temple changes in Mizoguchi’s mind based on his perception of beauty. Upon seeing

the temple for the first time, Mizoguchi is disappointed as the image of the temple had not

lived up to his father’s depictions. Yet, when he becomes an acolyte of the temple and comes

to live in it, his perception of the temple changes: “Reveal your secret to me...Please let me

see the real Golden Temple more clearly than I can see the image of you in my mind… why

is it necessary for you to be beautiful.” (Mishima 48). This quote implies to the reader that

the ever-changing nature of the temple is a representation of Mizoguchi’s own repressed

feelings about the beauty of the temple.Mizoguchi aims to become the superior of the temple

as he believed that he could achieve beauty by being closer to the temple. However towards

the end of the novel, Mizoguchi realizes that his own obsession with the temple’s beauty is

responsible for his ugliness and inability to interact with the outside world: “Beauty, beautiful

things, those are now my most deadly enemies.” (Mishima 187). With this revelation,

Mishima subtly indicates to the reader what Mizoguchi must do in order to achieve the
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beauty that is life. The embodiment of beauty, the Golden Temple, must be destroyed by

none other than the one who desires it most. Through this paradoxical idea of achieving

beauty through the destruction of beauty itself, Mishima is able to highlight and develop on

the theme of the destructive nature of the pursuit of beauty.

Destructive Resolutions:

Although often left to the interpretation of the reader, the resolution of a narrative still

serves as a powerful statement by the author about the story’s theme in action. In the case of

these two stories, the destructive pursuit of beauty is the central theme. The ending of The

Picture of Dorian Gray, can be categorized as a tragedy. Ironically, the story ends, like how

it begins, with the portrait. Dorian’s death by stabbing his own portrait causing the

supernatural event of swapping physical appearances inevitably produces a strong message

about the aesthetic life Dorian pursues. As Briana Regelin argues: “Dorian’s fate shows the

reality and consequences of attempting to live like a work of art; unlike Henry, Dorian cannot

escape from the effects of his actions.” (Regelin), an idea explored earlier. This is against

Wilde’s own aesthetic belief that art should not hold any didactic or moral purpose. However,

if one were to find meaning in Wilde’s work, it can be argued that The Picture of Dorian

Gray serves as a cautionary tale of how one should not have an ethical egoist approach to the

aesthetic lifestyle. Unlike other narratives ending with death, Dorian’s tragic and sudden

death may not necessarily subvert the expectations of the readers as the destruction of the

painting and how deals with the devil usually end hint to the reader of Dorian’s fate.

Nevertheless, the resolution still effectively conveys to the reader of the dangerous and self-

destructive nature of the pursuit of beauty.

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The Temple of The Golden Pavilion too ends like how it begins, the temple. However,

when the intended audience of the novel is taken into consideration, the burning of the temple

should no longer be a surprise to the Japanese public who are likely familiar with the real life

event the book was based on. Despite this, Mishima is still able to deliver a satisfying

resolution through how he has constructed Mizoguchi’s pursuit of beauty. Ivan Morris writes

in the introduction of the novel: “There was no way left, then, in Mizoguchi's sick mind but

to pursue his mad career through a series of nihilistic, self-destructive actions.” (Mishima 14).

However, it can be argued that Mishima had not intended Mizoguchi to be categorized as

“sick-minded” and “tortured” (Mishima 14); instead Mizoguchi’s final act of burning down

the temple can be viewed as an achievement. As aforementioned, Mizoguchi has come to

realize that the temple is an obstacle he must face in order to achieve beauty. The ending of

the novel is by implication a statement of the Buddhist belief, that impermanence and

perishability are necessary for beauty. Mizoguchi has been able to achieve inner peace, the

goal of Zen Buddhism, by burning down the temple. From this perspective, the happy ending

enables Mishima to conclude his narrative that explores the destructive pursuit of beauty.

Conclusion:

As demonstrated, there are similarities and differences to how Wilde and Mishima

employ literary techniques to construct their narratives exploring the destructive pursuit of

beauty. Subtle and overt characterization techniques were utilized to characterize the

protagonists as deprived of beauty, thereby enabling the authors to establish flawed

characters with motives to embark on the pursuit of beauty. Mishima’s use of metaphors

contribute to gaining empathy from reader response while Wilde’s secondary characters help

characterize Dorian as a beautiful and naive character. Moreover, similar plot mechanisms in

the form of the desecration of ideal beauty, allowed for the authors to further their narratives
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and foreshadow their protagonists’ acts of destruction. In the case of The Picture of Dorian

Gray, readers are informed of the high stakes and the destructive philosophy Dorian

possesses. On the other hand, the desecration of ideal beauty indicates to readers Mizoguchi’s

destructive attitude towards “ugly” things and his own sexual repression, foreshadowing

future events of the novel. Symbolism employed similarly in both works were used to reflect

character development and to further develop the theme of the destructive pursuit of beauty.

Although both novels ultimately end with the protagonist destroying these symbols of beauty,

the messages Wilde and Mishima convey through their resolution differ: the dangers of the

isolated aesthetic life and the perishable element of beauty. Despite the differences in culture,

time, and language both Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima utilize similar literary techniques to

construct narratives exploring the destructive pursuit of beauty in The Picture of Dorian

Gray and The Temple of The Golden Pavilion. Although these literary techniques are

similarly employed in both works, the effects generated differ based on the author’s own

ideology of beauty. This begs the question, how can the idea of the destructive nature of the

pursuit of beauty transcend literature and apply to the reader’s life?

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Works Cited

Carrim, Sabah. “Beauty as Disequilibrium in Yukio Mishima’s ‘the Temple of the Golden

Pavilion.’” www.academia.edu, 23 Dec. 2012,

www.academia.edu/1906593/Beauty_as_disequilibrium_in_Yukio_Mishimas_The_T

emple_of_the_Golden_Pavillion_?auto=download, 10.1163/9781848881259_008.

Accessed 20 May 2021.

Freud, Sigmund. Ego and the Id. S.L., Clydesdale Pr Llc, 1923.

Juniper, Andrew. Wabi Sabi : The Japanese Art of Impermanence. Boston, Tuttle Pub, 2003.

Korte, Barbara. “THE ‘FEMME FRAGILE’: DECLINE and FALL of a LITERARY

TOPOS.” Semantic Scholar, 1987, www.semanticscholar.org/paper/THE-

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LITERARY-Korte/82a9bcbb9bcd910d24461196bf57667de6f07a70.

Liebman, Sheldon W. “CHARACTER DESIGN in ‘the PICTURE of DORIAN GRAY.’”

Studies in the Novel, vol. 31, no. 3, 1999, pp. 296–316,

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Mishima, Yukio. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. 1956. London D. Campbell Publishers

Cop, 1994.
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Muldoon, Moira. "The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Dangers of Beauty." Introduction. The

Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

VIIXIII. Print.

Regelin, Briana. The Graceful Prince of a Trivial Comedy: Symbolism and Aesthetics in the

Picture of Dorian Gray and “de Profundis.” , 2015.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. 1890. Harlow, Pearson Education, 2008.